Winding-machine.



W. MARLOW. WINDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED IE'E13.2'5,1 911.

Patented May 14, 1912.

William Marlow, 5144mm 9% 4b we UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM MARLOW, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD KNITTING MILLS COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

WINDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 25, 1911.

Patented May 14., 1912. Serial No. 610,680.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM MARLOW, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Winding-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in winding machinery used for the winding of bobbins from skeins or cops and is more particularly directed to the provision of means for maintaining a constant tension upon the thread irrespective of the point upon the bobbin on which the thread is be ing wound, and for cleaning the thread before it is wound upon the bobbin.

It is well known that it is desirable in knitting to have the thread wound upon the bobbin at a constant tension, so that the bobbin shall be of uniform density and that the thread shall not be subjected to undue strain at any point. This unevenness of tension is very likely to occur, owing to the conical shape of the bobbin, and various devices have been devised to remedy this defect. All of them, however, are complicated, diflicult of adjustment, wasteful of power, and liable to derangement.

In my improved machine, I provide a method of automatically increasing the ten sion of the thread and the friction upon it when it is being wound upon the smaller diameter of the bobbin, at the same time permitting the bobbin to revolve at a constant speed.

My improved device is simple, unlikely to get out of order, positive in its action, and capable of easy adjustment. It has the further advantage that by permitting thebobbin to be rotated at constant speed the winding of the bobbin may be done much more quickly than with machines in which the speed of the bobbin is changed.

My improved machine also includes devices which are used not only for cleaning the thread during its travel from the skein to the bobbin, but which also aid in regulating its tension and the amount of friction imposed upon it. These devices are, first, an improved scraper, which is so organized that it is impossible for a knot to pass through it and which is readily adjustable to all sizes of threads and an improved brush for removing the loose threads or other particles which may adhere to the thread. This brush is so placed that the thread engages the points of its wires, thus producing a picking action instead of the ordinary side friction between the thread and the wires, such as is produced in all prior brushes, which picking action thoroughly cleanses the thread and removes any foreign substance adhering thereto.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a sectional view of a part of a winding machine, showing my improved devices. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a portion of the tension device. Fig. 3 is a front view of the scraper, and Fig. 4 is a side View thereof, partly in section.

I have illustrated my improved devices applied to one bobbin only, or in other words, one set of devices only. The devices described are intended to be applied to a winding machine having a large number of bobbins, and when so applied they are merely duplicated along horizontal bars which extend the full length of the machine.

Referring to Fig. 1, I have illustrated at 1 one of the bobbins upon which the thread is being wound, supported upon a spindle 2 and revolved at a constant speed by a belt 3, acting upon a pulley 1. 5 is the build bar which extends the full length of the machine, carrying the screw-threaded former spindles, one of which is shown at 6, upon which is the former 7. The former carries a thread guide 8, which is prevented from rotating by the engagement of the guide 9 with the post 10. The build bar and its former perform the usual function of regulating the travel of the thread over the bobbin. The build bar 5 is oscillated vertically by means of a cam 11, which engages a rocker arm 12, or by any other suitable oscillating mechanism. As the bobbin fills up the former 7 will come into contact with the thread when the build bar has reached its lowermost point. This causes a rotation of the former until it is raised out of engage ment with the bobbin and thus controls the distance over which the thread is wound. The extreme positions of the build bar 5 and the mechanism attached thereto are shown in solid and dotted lines in the drawing. At 13 is illustrated the scraper bar, which extends the full length of the machine, carrying the scrapers, one of which is shown at 14. At 15 is shown the brush bar, which also extends the full length of the machine, carrying wire brushes, one of which is shown at 16, and are adapted to clean the thread. At 17 is shown the guide bar carrying the guides, of which one is shown at 18. One of the skein holders is shown at 19 carrying the skein 20, from which the thread 21 is taken. The tension device of my improved mechanism is arranged as follows: Upon the stationary scraper bar 13 there are erected a number of standards, one of which is shown at 22, carrying pivoted bell crank levers, as at 23. To the lowermost end of bell crank lever 23 is attached an operating arm 2st, and to the uppermost end of bell crank 23 is attached a tension bar 25, which runs the entire length of the machine, being practically coextensive with all of the other bars. It is unnecessary to support the tension bar 25 at every bobbin, the bar being stiff enough to require support by standards and bell cranks at intervals only. I find that about six supports are sufficientin a machine of ordinary length. Bell crank 23 is normally held in the position shown in full lines by means of a weight 26, but is oscillated about its axis by means of a slotted lifting member 27 which is attached to build bar 5 by means of bolt 28, and oscillates with it.

The path of thread 21, is as follows: from the skein 20 to guide 18, over brush 16, through scraper 14, over tension bar 25, through guide 8, upon former 7 to the bobbin.

The details of scraper 14 are shown more clearly in Figs. 3 and 4c. Referring to these figures, it will be seen that scraper 14 consists of a back 29 carrying a porcelain eye 30 and a knife 31. Knife 31 is adjustable vertically by means of a thumb screw 32, passing through a post 33 and engaging the upturned lip 34 of the knife. The knife is prevented from sidewise movement by means of the screw 35 engaging slot 36. The entire scraper is capable of vertical adjustment upon the scraper bar, in order to vary the pat-h of travel of the.thread and consequently its tension, by means of screw 37 passing through slot 38. It will be noted that the top of scraper 1 1 is slightly rounded, .in order to provide a surface with which the thread may contact. Brush 16 is so-placed between scraper 14:, which also performs the function of a guide, and guide 18, so that the ends of the teeth engage the thread, thus cleaning it of any foreign substances which may be adhering to it. I have found that the best method is to dispose the teeth at an acute angle to the thread so that a picking effect is obtained. Brush 16 also performs v the functions of increasing the tension upon the thread and of counteracting any lack of uniformity in the rotation of the skein holder, or movement of the other parts of the machine, which tend to give the thread an uneven motion.

The operation of my improved winding machine is as follows: lVhen the build bar is at the lowermost limit of its travel, as shown in the full lines of Fig. 1, the path of the thread between the scraper 1-L and guide 7 is relatively straight. When, however, the build bar rises, due to the rotation of cam 11, lifting member 27 engages operating bar 24, causing bell crank 23 to rotate on its axis and causing tension bar 25 to defiect the thread 21 out of its normal path. This causes the thread to engage a greater amount of the surface of the top of scraper 14 and of tension bar.25 and thus produces a greater tension and friction upon the thread. Lifting bar 24: being curved, the tension produced at the beginning of the stroke is slight, but that produced toward the end of the movement is considerably greater for a given movement of the build bar. In this arrangement it will be noted that the bobbin 1 revolves at a constant speed. If it is desired to adjust the apparatus so that tension is put upon the thread at an earlier or later period of the stroke, it is only necessary to loosen bolt 28 and move operating member 27 up or down upon the build bar. Upon the down stroke of build bar 5, the weight 26 causes the operating arm 24: and the parts attached thereto to resume their normal position.

As it is obvious that many modifications and changes in the form I have described, may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, I therefore do not intend to limit myself to the precise form illustrated and described. For instance, other methods of connecting the oscillating bar with the lever could be used, or the lever might be operated by another movable part of the machine.

lVhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a winding machine, a bobbin, a vertically oscillating build bar, a lever and an adjustable engaging member carried by the build bar and adapted to engage said lever for varying the tension of the thread delivered to the bobbin.

2. In a winding machine, a bobbin, a vertically oscillating build bar, a pivoted and weighted lever and an adjustable engaging member carried by the build bar and adapted to engage said lever for varying the tension of the thread delivered to the bobbin.

3. In a winding machine, a bobbin, a vertically oscillating build bar, a pivoted and weighted lever carrying a tension bar and an adjustable engaging member carried by said build bar and adapted to engage said lever to oscillate the same and vary the tension upon the thread delivered to the bobbin.

4. In a winding machine, a bobbin, an oscillating bar, a lever carryin a tension bar, a guide and means control ed by said oscillating bar to vary the amount of the surface of the guide and the tension bar with which the thread is in contact.

5. In a Winding machine, abobbin, a vertically oscillating build bar, a pivoted lever carrying a tension bar, an engaging member carried by the build bar and adapted to raise one end of said lever during the upward WILLIAM MARLOW.

Witnesses:

RAMsAY Hoeom, WALTER S. JoNEs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

